Waylon Jennings - The Original Country Outlaw

Waylon Jennings via last.fm

Waylon Jennings, born June 15 1937 in Littlefield Texas, is probably the best known of the country outlaws that came of age in 70's. More than any other country artist, Jennings was fundamentally incapable of resigning himself to the harsh restrictions of Nashville's slick production machine.


At the heart of the revolt was a fundamental difference in musical outlook. Nashville, at some point along the way, had decided that the bleak but authentic agrarian blues and rockabilly of Hank Williams could no longer be marketed. The new Nashville sound was oriented to the limited tastes of new upwardly-mobile middle class soccer moms - and all hints of despair and pain of its Great Depression origins were ruthlessly excised. Eventually, despite lip service to its past, Nashville producers abandoned artists like Johnny Cash, who, in turn, began seeking out independent labels, producers, and radio outlets to express themselves.


Thus was born the outlaw country movement.


Waylon Jennings: I Don't Think Hank Done It This Way